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| My Terry bicycle (engineered especially for shorter women) |
This was supposed to be my R.I.P. (Readers Imbibing Peril) post, but I took off cycling instead of organizing my books for the challenge. My apologies to Carl V. for messing with his book challenge title. *blushes*
I will be participating in R.I.P. VII this year. In fact, I have already read one book and am in the process of reading a second that I do believe will end up qualifying for this challenge. I have quite a stack of R.I.P. contenders stacked up, as do most participants.
But ... back to the bike. The morning was just too lovely to stay indoors so I went cycling. I'm usually out running, but decided to build up some leg muscles that just don't get the attention they need from running. I was reminded of these currently wimpy muscles when I rode up my first hill. They yelled at me the whole way; they will thank me later.
I rode about 10 miles and it was easier than I had anticipated after such a long time off the bike (probably due to the running). Since it was a Sunday, I didn't have to contend with traffic on my route. I'm hoping I can take this route on Fridays to commute to work on my bike. It would be nice to combine commute time with exercise time.
I've been considering joining the Adventure Cycling Association. Anyone else out there belong? This would be a great way to find out about cycling events, cycling tours, and bike friendly routes across the U.S. The nine times a year Adventure Cyclist magazine that comes with membership would also be motivating.
I used to ride regularly with my husband and our vacations often involved such fun as riding in the Rocky Mountains and around California wine country. Grad school, careers, kids, grandkids and other things took precedence for years. Now I'm hearing the call of the bike again. Can you tell I've missed riding?
I love cycling, as does my husband, and fellow blogger Parrish Lantern. I put a serious dent in my passion, though, when my mother had a terrible crash as we were cycling in Chicago's Bike The Drive this May. God saw us through it, but some of my joy is gone. Anyway, it's a lovely sport, and wonderful to fly without putting all the strain on one's knees. Feet. Assorted joints. I love the color of your bicycle, too!
ReplyDeleteBellezza: So sorry to hear about the crash! I can see how that would put a damper on the passion. One of the things that has kept me off the bike for some years is a fear of traffic. Traffic is so much heavier, and wide road shoulders and bike lanes have been removed in favor of additional traffic lanes making it much more dangerous for cyclists. Add into that mix drivers that seem very selfish and drive like they are in a video game ... well, you get the picture! I'll be checking out a bike trail nearby soon. Hopefully that will work for recreation riding.
ReplyDeleteNice bike, Terry! :)
ReplyDeleteI like cycling. Luckily we have pretty good bike lanes here in Helsinki. I can ride on bike lanes all the way to the city centre from where I live (some 10+ kms).